Brad Keselowski: He won at Kentucky earlier this year, won at Chicagoland just a few weeks ago, so it’s a pretty simple pick here considering he’s good on these egg-shaped tracks. Keselowski wins it, putting pressure on the rest of the Chase field. – Jay Hart

Greg Biffle: The Biff was fast last week at Charlotte and has won three times at Homestead, the model track for Kansas' new progressive banking. He's been too good over the course of the season not to get at least one Chase win, and it happens on Sunday.– Nick Bromberg

Denny Hamlin: He won here in the spring, but this isn't the same track as it was in the spring. Still, Hamlin has shown the ability to adapt to repaves, and based on the run he's on, I expect him to stay up front. – Jay Busbee

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Top Storyline

• Where will the preferred groove be this weekend? With progressive banking, the track gets steeper as it gets closer to the wall. Will the higher banking on the high line be the fastest way around, or will it be around the white line? And will we see side-by-side racing almost immediately? – Nick Bromberg

• We've seen track after track repave in an attempt to improve its racing. It's worked at some tracks, not at others. It's a costly gamble, and NASCAR has to hope that the Kansas experiment pays off for a track that only recently got its second date.– Jay Busbee

• Clint Bowyer was a guy who nobody thought would be in this position when the season started, but here he is halfway through the Chase and within sight of the lead. This year is already a major success for Michael Waltrip Racing, and if Bowyer is able to come through at his home track, it'll get even better. – Jay Hart

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FROM THE SOURCE

"You look back at the Pocono races, you look back at Michigan, this race this weekend is probably going to be much of the same. With the restarts being very important, as we lead into the race, really not knowing what to expect as you go into this first corner side-by-side for the first time how much grip is going to be there, if you remember back to the first Pocono race. There's a lot of unknowns, a lot of things that could go wrong. I think track position is going to be very important." – Kevin Harvick